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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

When I looked in the mirror today while getting ready, I thought to myself, "Yeah, I look thirty-three.” Aging—it’s a peculiar thing, it kinda crept up on me. When I was sixteen, I could pass for twenty. When I was twenty-four, twenty-six, I could still pass for twenty. But now I’m thirty-three, not far from thirty-four, and I don’t think I would be mistaken for anything other then in my thirties. I’ve heard different theories through the years on how to guess a person’s age. “It’s in their eyes,” they would say, or, “it’s hidden in their smile”, or “look at their hands, they can’t hide age there.” I admit that I’m having a hard time adjusting to the tale-tale signs of age. But then I look beyond that. I look down at my hands and see all the lines and weathered roughness from nights of washing dishes after sitting around the dinner table with my family as we shared our stories of the day. I see the dark circles under my eyes that come from broken sleep because my little one needs to be comforted and the only place he wants to be is right next to me on my pillow. I see the crinkles on my face that are now permanent remainders from smiles and laughter shared with my favorite people. My hands, eyes, and smile show more age now at thirty-three then they did at twenty-three, but I’d rather be the person I feel on the inside now then the young woman I looked like then. To have the love, comfort, confidence, and happiness that age brings is worth it.

This was perfect; I love how well you express your thoughts. THere is something wonderful about the wise old women we are becoming in our 30s. And I can honestly say you get more and more beautiful the longer I know you!

"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. "